Most of the traditional muzzle-loading guns were ignited by a flint lock or by a percussion cap; in both cases, the ignition device was maintained on the side of the gun and the ignition spark was fired into a nipple passage that was directed sideways. When the gun was fired, the backfire gas was projected out of the nipple passage and laterally of the gun. Recently, however, it has been suggested that a muzzle-loading firearm could be fired advantageously by a percussion cap mounted on a nipple located at the rear end of the barrel and coaxial of the bore. This concept was shown and described in the patent application of French et al Ser. No. 254,953 filed Oct. 7, 1988. One of the problems with this axial ignition arrangement is that the backfire is directed rearwardly around the hammers. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a firearm of the muzzle-loading, percussion cap ignited type, in which ignition takes place coaxially of the barrel, but backfire is directed laterally.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a muzzle-loading firearm having symmetrical firing.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of the firearm ignited by a percussion cap and wherein backfire ejection is symmetrical.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.